Edith Griffith
Edith Griffith ---- Edith Griffith was a singer who recorded songs from 1927 to 1930 for Victor Records. She was referenced and used in the defense in the $250,000 Infringement Lawsuit as scat singing by a witness. Felix Mayol who recorded the 1913 French song titled "Bou Dou Ba Boum", was also brought up in the defense, including old footage of Baby Esther. Only two of Griffith's recordings are preserved by history. Edith was said to have affected a baby-talk voice in her stage performances. Alternative scat sounds that Griffith is said to have interpolated into her songs were "Do-Do-Da-Da," "Da-Da-Do-Do." "Da-Da-Da-Da," "Roo-Too-Too-Too," and "Da-Da-Da-Ba-Ba-Ba". Edith Griffith (1927) Witness Alfred Evans, who was an employee of Rudy Vallée, testifed saying that he had heard Edith Griffith sing a Boop-Boop-a-Doop song with the interpolations, "Boop-Boop-a-Doop" and "Poop-Poop-a-Doop" at an Omaha, Nebraska theatre in 1927. Evidence Against Kane Edith Griffith and Felix Mayol were also used as evidence against Helen Kane, but it was the old footage of Baby Esther performing the routine that helped prove that Kane was not the first "Boop-Oop-a-Doop" singer in the business. A number of witnesses testified before Supreme Court Justice Edward J McGoldrick today that they had heard Boop-Boop-a-Doop songs long before Helen Kane says she introduced them to the public. Miss Kane insists that she was the originator of the singing technic which she has claimed as hers since 1928, and that the technique was stolen by Max Fleischer, Fleischer Studios, Inc. and Paramount-Publix Corporation in the promotion of the Betty Boop animated screen cartoons. For this infringement on her alleged rights Miss Kane has appealed to the court for $250,000 damages. The first witness today was Alfred Evans, who said that he was in the employ of Rudy Vallée. He said that in 1927, a year before Helen Kane first offered a Boop to the American theater-going public, he heard a few Boops from Edith Griffith, who affected a baby voice in her stage performances. Another witness, who insisted that Helen Kane's Boops were not 100 per cent novelties, was Marion Luber, a dancer, who told the court that early in 1928 she heard Baby Esther, a Negro child performer employ the Boop style of singing which Miss Kane considers her own. Under cross-examination this witness said she did not recall the songs she heard Bay Esther sing but that she remembered the child's songs were replete with Boops and Doops. Boop-Boop-a-Doop? Helen Kane sued Fleischer Studios and Paramount for stealing her act, but the court ruled that Kane might have lifted the "Boop-Boop-a-Doop" gimmick either from Baby Esther or Edith Griffith. Kane first used the catchphrase in "That's My Weakness Now," fans reactions made Kane use it again in "Button Up Your Overcoat". Recordings *"I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby" (1928) *"Jealous" (1930) Trivia *It was stated in a 1930 article that Edith was petite, attractive and clever, and had an original method of singing her songs. *She mainly performed on the stage. Links *Edith Griffith at DAHR See Also *How Did Helen Kane Lose Her $250,000 Lawsuit? ---- Category:People Category:Baby Esther Category:Baby Esther Jones